All-star Bowie celebration raises $40k for Save the Children

Concert stream featured Duran Duran, Trent Reznor, YUNGBLUD and more

On January 9th, a star-studded lineup of vocal and musical talent joined forces for A Bowie Celebration: Just For One Day!, the streaming concert event of the year. The visionary team behind the show raised the bar for streaming events to come, bringing together a long list of acclaimed talent to pay homage to David Bowie in cinematic fashion on the weekend of what would have been the rock legend’s 74th birthday and the fifth anniversary of his passing.

Produced by Mike Garson, David Bowie’s pianist and longest-standing band member, along with Stacey Sher and Kerry Brown together with Rolling Live Studios, the concert was a stirring visual and musical masterpiece. Through the magic of technology — and, of course, music — artists from around the world took the stage with Garson at The Bourbon Room in Hollywood to perform for fans watching from across the globe. Rolling Live Studios oversaw all areas of production, debuting the second version of their artist streaming platform at the event with partners Streamlabs, HYFI, and Ultimate Ears Pro.

The evening kicked off with Grammy award-winning British music icons Duran Duran, who delivered a rendition of Bowie’s “Five Years” that Billboard deemed “spine-tingling” and Rolling Stone hailed a “blazing cover.” The band also released the song as a single to coincide with the concert. From Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor’s take on “Fantastic Voyage” with award-winning musician Atticus Ross to UK chart-topping sensation YUNGBLUD’s show-stopping delivery of “Life on Mars?,” the show left audience members and media alike raving, with stellar reviews in NME, Billboard, Variety, The Guardian, The Independent, and beyond.

A Bowie Celebration donated $2 per ticket purchase to the Save the Children, a charity that was so important to Bowie that he chose it as the beneficiary for his sold out 50th Birthday Concert held at Madison Square Garden in 1997. Ticket sales for A Bowie Celebration: Just For One Day! rivaled that legendary show, raising over $40,000 for the organization.

“Save the Children is delighted to have been a part of this remarkable event that celebrated David Bowie’s legacy both as an iconic artist and passionate philanthropist,” states Janti Soeripto, President and CEO of Save the Children. “We are profoundly grateful to the incredible artists who put this concert together and are especially thankful to David Bowie for all that he did throughout his life to support Save the Children’s efforts to make the world a better place for children everywhere.”

The full list of talent featured in the out-of-this world event included Culture Club frontman Boy George, Taylor Momsen (Pretty Reckless), and Ground Control supergroup with Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction), Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour), Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), and Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction), six-time Ivor Novello Award winner Gary Barlow (Take That), William Corgan (The Smashing Pumpkins), Grammy Award-winning guitar legend Peter Frampton, three-time Grammy nominee Andra Day, vocal sensation Adam Lambert, Oscar-winning actor Gary Oldman, Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction), Kind Heaven Orchestra vocalist Etty Lau Farrell, Grammy-winning singer Macy Gray, Ian Astbury (The Cult), Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), actor/musician Michael C. Hall, Mott the Hoople icon Ian Hunter, singer-songwriter and virtuoso guitarist Anna Calvi, How to Destroy Angels vocalist Mariqueen Maandig Reznor, Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie, Lenny Kravitz), Bernard Fowler (Rolling Stones), Corey Glover (Living Colour), Tony-winner Lena Hall, vocal phenom Judith Hill (Grammy winner for 20 Feet From Stardom), Charlie Sexton (David Bowie, Bob Dylan), Grammy nominee Catherine Russell and more.

They joined career-spanning Bowie Band alumni including Grammy Award-winning saxophone phenom David Sanborn, Bowie’s longtime record producer and musician Tony Visconti, Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, Bowie’s final touring band of Mike Garson, Gail Ann Dorsey, Earl Slick, Sterling Campbell, Gerry Leonard and Catherine Russell along with Zack Alford, Carlos Alomar, Kevin Armstrong, Everett Bradley, Matt Chamberlain, Ava Cherry, Alan Childs, Robin Clark, Richard Cottle, Greg Errico, Mark Guiliana, Emm Gryner, Omar Hakim, Stan Harrison, Henry Hey, Clare Hirst, Erdal Kızılçay, Emir Ksasan, Tim Lefebvre, Tony Levin, Geoff MacCormack, Martha Mooke, Andy Newmark, Holly Palmer, Mark Plati, Carmine Rojas, Pablo Rosario, and Charlie Sexton.

In addition, Award-winning comedian and After Life star Ricky Gervais, child internet drumming sensation Nandi Bushell, Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno and vocalist Simon Westbrook made special appearances along with The Section Quartet and more.

Even after the show has drawn to a close, A Bowie Celebration encourages people to continue to support Save the Children.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com